This SC critter masquerades as a snake. Here’s how to tell the difference

Sarah Claire McDonald
·3 min read

Have you ever thought you saw a strange looking snake wriggling rather than slithering across the road or through your lawn?

It may not have been a snake.

The eastern glass lizard is a common sight throughout South Carolina and most of the southeastern region of the country. However, this species is more predominantly seen in the Lowcountry region out of anywhere in the state.

In a photo gallery last week of a trip through Jarvis Creek Park, managing editor Jeff Kidd posted a photo of what he thought was a snake he could not identify. Turns out, it was not a snake. Alert reader David Dahlke correctly ID’d the eastern glass lizard and sent along one of his photos of the species. “Notice the ear hole behind his eye and down slightly,” Dahlke wrote.

The eastern glass lizard is the most common species of glass lizards in the state.

These lizards are frequently mistaken for snakes given their legless appearance. They have long slender bodies, smooth scales and have no limbs.

Ranging from 18 to 43 inches in length, “glass lizards are long, slender, legless lizards that superficially resemble snakes. They differ from snakes, though, in that they have movable eyelids, external ear openings, and inflexible jaws. The eastern glass lizard is the longest and heaviest glass lizard in our region and is generally light brown or yellowish to greenish in coloration,” according to the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory through the University of Georgia.

When I first posted this photo of a dead snake, I couldn’t ID it. That’s because it isn’t a snake. Sharp Untamed Lowcountry reader David Dahlke emailed me to tell me this is an eastern glass lizard. Glass lizards are long, slender, legless lizards that look a lot like snakes. However, they differ from snakes in that they have moveable eyelids, external ear openings and inflexible jaws, according to the Savannah River Ecology Labratory’s Herpetology Program.

This specific species of glass lizard is best distinguished by the lack of a dark-colored dorsal stripe or dark markings below the lateral groove and the presence of several vertical whitish bars just located behind the head, the lab continued.

Hatchling length for these lizards is around 7 inches.

Frequently seen throughout the Lowcountry, these glass lizards are commonly found in pine flatwoods, sand dunes and other sandy habitats and are also often found around wetlands, states Herps of NC.

Glass lizards forage actively by day in open habitats. Yet, you may find them taking refuge beneath boards and other debris.

“When seized, glass lizards commonly break off all or part of their tail (which makes up more than half of their total length) and will later regrow. With the predator distracted by the wriggling tail, the lizard is free to escape,” the University of Georgia laboratory states.

Glass lizards earned their name by their ability to seemingly “shatter” by breaking their tail, which can often be broken into several pieces.

If you happen to come across one of these lizards there is no need to be alarmed. Glass lizards are a nonvenomous species and are completely harmless to humans, states the Encyclopedia of Alabama.

These lizards eat a wide selection of different insects, spiders, and other invertebrates as well as some small reptiles.

In addition, the female lizard will lay several eggs under a log, board, leaves or other overhead object in the early summer. She will attend to these eggs, typically a clutch of 7 to 15, until they hatch later in the summer. She remains coiled around the eggs until they hatch 50 to 60 days later. This happens after their mating season, which occurs throughout late May and early June, details the Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Female glass lizards do not actively defend their eggs and will usually abandon them if the nest becomes uncovered.

So, next time you think you might see a snake that is moving strangely, it might not even be a snake at all. It could be the eastern glass lizard. If it thinks you may be a threat, it might just shatter its tail.